Unit 6 Interview practice

Activity 1: Practice Interview

Watch and learn from this video of two Hong Kong students practising for an interview in English.

This was created to help university students improve their interview skills.

Activity 2: Interview simulation

Practice your interview skills in this interview simulation.

This was created for accounting students, but for computer science majors talk about your major, and not accounting. The interviewer asks a question and pauses. Speak until he begins the next question. Do not leave any "dead air" or awkward silence (気まずい沈黙).

Activity 3: Audio recording

Create a video recording of your answers to each of the questions below. Then analyze your responses.

1. Could you take about one minute to tell me about yourself?
2. What are your strengths?
3. What are your weaknesses?
4. Why do you apply for this?
5. What's your ideal company?
6. What attracted you to our company?
7. Why should we recruit you?
8. What do you hope to be doing in 10 years?
9. Which university courses did you excel at?
10. What did you like least about university life?
11. What makes you a better candidate than the other applicants?
12. Do you have any questions for us?

If that was easy, try answering "Tell me a little more about that?" after each question from question 2 through to question 11.

Activity 4: Video recording

Video record your answers to the questions above. Re-record until you have an error-free video. Check each of the following criteria.

1. Fluency: Are there any long pauses while you are thinking
2. Accuracy: Are there any grammatical mistakes, e.g. using present tense instead of past tense.
3. Pronunciation: Does you voice sound flat? Did you use intonation, sentence stress and word stress?
4. Appropriacy: Do your answers address the questions?
5. Range of vocabulary: Did you use a wide range of vocabulary?
6. Range of grammar: Did you use different tenses and different sentence structures?

Activity 5: Practice questions for assignment to supervisor

Work in pairs or small groups. Practice asking and answering these questions.

1. Tell me something about yourself?
2. What are you good at?
3. What are you not so good at?
4. How's your GPA?
5. Which courses in this university do you enjoy?
6. Which courses did you find difficult?
7. Have you dropped any courses? If so, which and why?
8. Do you prefer to work alone or in a team?
9. Why did you choose this lab?
10. Many students have applied to this lab. Why should I select you?
11. Do you have any questions for me?

Activity 6: Practice questions for study-abroad scholarship

Work in pairs or small groups. Practice asking and answering these questions.

1. You have two minutes. Can you tell us why your should be awarded this scholarhsip
2. How have you prepared for going to your target country?
3. What do you plan to do when you are there?
4. If you have a conflict with the homestay family, what will you do?
5. Do you think your English is good enough to communicate?
6. Could you tell me what you know about the target university?